SMART Transportation Division Michigan State Legislative Director Don Roach reports that two bills supported by the union have taken a step forward in the state Legislature after receiving a key committee endorsement. HB 4917 and HB 4918 seek to enhance protections for transp [...]
“Our General Chairperson for the SEPTA property, Ray Boyer, served Section 6 Notices on SEPTA well over a year ago. SEPTA management knows full well that SMART-TD’s members are the backbone of the greater Philadelphia area. Our members operate heavy rail, buses, light rail, a [...]
It is with heavy hearts that the members of the SMART Transportation Division and Local 857 mourn the passing of colleague and friend, Michael Moilanen. Michael served as a conductor for Amtrak and was a valued member of Local 857 out of San Antonio, Texas. Michael’s un [...]
In 2022, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey signed into law Senate Joint Resolution 86, declaring October 15 “Railroad Workers Day” throughout the Garden State. This Sunday, New Jersey will be recognizing Railroad Workers Day for the second time. As Gov. Murphy said about r [...]
As a union, we are reaching out to request your support of one of our brothers in his moment of need. Brother Greg Nunez from SMART-TD Local 898 (Boston, Mass.) has been a SMART-TD member for over nine years. He works as a conductor for Keolis in commuter service. More import [...]
The SMART Transportation Division has formed a new committee to address the growing problem of assaults on bus and transit operators. The Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety committee (BTAPS), was founded at the recent SMART Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. [...]
Jose F. “Joey” Garcia, local chairperson of Local 168 (Chicago, Ill.), passed away suddenly in December at his home in Chicago. Brother Garcia, 46, actively participated in our union since his railroad career began in 2005. An Amtrak conductor, Brother Garcia served as a legi [...]
SMART-TD Local 653 (Chicago) is proud to announce the recognition of Legislative Representative Orlando Rojas as the winner of the 2022 Charlie Hayes Award for his work in the greater Chicago labor community. This award is given by an organization known as Chicago Jobs With J [...]
In a rare acknowledgment of the value railroaders bring to the table, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has named October 15 as “Railroad Workers Day”. Gov. Murphy went on the record saying, “Through extreme weather events and a global pandemic, our state’s railroad workers hav [...]
The New York Post reported that Amtrak paid out over $2.3 million in annual bonuses to 10 executives in 2021, despite the carrier seeing its lowest revenues in a decade. In the article published by the Post on Oct. 5, the bonuses were reported by Amtrak to be “earned incentiv [...]